1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to vibration damping apparatuses for saddle riding type vehicles and, in particular, to a vibration damping technique in a saddle riding type vehicle, such as a motorcycle, that can damp vibrational behavior, such as weave, wobble, and chattering.
2. Description of Background Art
A known vibration damping apparatus for a saddle riding type vehicle incorporates an elastic member interposed between members constituting a vehicle body frame in order to reduce vibration at low frequencies, as shown, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 62-137287 or Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2007-145268.
Another known vibration damping apparatus incorporates a damper device to damp vibration of the vehicle body which vibration may cause chattering. The damper device includes, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2009-190454, a piston rod (120) and a piston (130) that make a stroke motion with an external input applied thereto, an inner tube (140) packed with a fluid (e.g. oil), and a tubular outer tube (160) covering the inner tube (140).
In each of the apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho 62-137287 and Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2007-145268, each member for receiving load (bearing load) in constituting the vehicle body frame is connected with each other via the elastic member, which makes it difficult to ensure stiffness of the vehicle body frame.
The apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2009-190454 has a drawback of a limited position at which the damper device can be disposed, since the damper device has a complicated structure and vibration can be effectively damped only if a direction of piston motion coincides with that of vibration.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vibration damping apparatus for a saddle riding type vehicle that easily secures stiffness of a vehicle body frame, simplifies structure, and improves a degree of freedom in layout.